On the Sea
By the sea in North Wales a mussel farmer discovers a dormant side to his sexuality in Helen Walsh’s superbly acted, subtle slow-burn drama.
Lorne MacFadyen and Barry Ward
Image courtesy of Verve Pictures.
by MANSEL STIMPSON
Helen Walsh's second feature which she both wrote and directed is a work quite likely to evoke comparisons with a film which was hugely acclaimed in 2017. That was Francis Lee's God's Own Country. It took place in a rural location – Yorkshire – and had its centre a gay relationship that developed between a local farmer, Johnny, and a Romanian working on the land. On the Sea has a quite different setting, that being the east coast of Anglesey in northern Wales, but again it is a place far from urban life. The central character is a man in his late forties, Jack (Barry Ward), who has taken on the family business of a mussel farm in tandem with his brother, Dyfan (Celyn Jones). These two are often at odds and it is clear that Dyfan is keen to see his three children play a leading role in the business in due course. However, as the film proceeds it becomes clear that the other principal figure here is thirty-year-old Daniel (Lorne MacFadyen). He is not from Romania but he is a new arrival and someone looking for work there, possibly assisting on a boat. This newcomer is gay and the relationship that develops between him and Jack emerges as the central thread in this piece.
Despite these parallels with God’s Own Country, making comparisons between the two films is not really as appropriate as it might seem. Lee's film dealt with two young men who were gay but the key fact about On the Sea is that Jack is bisexual. Furthermore, that he is middle-aged is far from being irrelevant. Born and bred in this locality, Jack has been married for years and has a limited experience of the world. His wife, Maggie (Liz White), had become his girlfriend when they were in their teens and they now have a son of their own, Tom (Henry Lawfull), who is himself a teenager. The film is at pains to make it clear that this is a happy marriage but when he encounters Daniel Jack suddenly finds that feelings which he has always sought to keep under control have taken on real depth. Even so he is cautious to act on this realisation being all too well aware that the community is one in which rumours about him and Daniel could easily spread, in addition to which his own brother is homophobic. It is a complex situation in which Jack finds himself. He would not in any case wish to hurt Maggie, but his feelings for Daniel underline the fact that he has denied giving expression to a key part of himself.
Walsh’s treatment of this material feels in every respect very real and never seems forced. Some may find this a disadvantage in that eschewing anything close to melodrama means that nothing is rushed here (the film runs for 111 minutes) and the sense of attraction between Jack and Daniel as expressed in the film’s first half is only through glances and hints in what is said. The subtlety is such that viewers unaware of where the story is leading may find the focus of the piece too indeterminate for too long, but if one is aware of the character of the piece this approach only adds to the sense of authenticity.
However, if the plot is slow to emerge, On the Sea can nevertheless count on two factors to hold us. One is the conviction with which the characters are drawn as rounded individuals. The location shooting by Sam Goldie is atmospherically expressive of a place where the sun very rarely seems to shine but, while the filming is confident, it is the sureness of touch in the characterisations which is the key component here. Walsh is an established author and one feels that On the Sea is a work which could fairly – and unusually – be described as a novelist’s film with the characters very much providing the groundwork on which it is built. Maggie may be somewhat subsidiary but has real individuality while a yet smaller role, that of young Tom's girlfriend Lois (Leisa Gwenllian), finds the character appearing in a new and unexpected light in a late scene. But, above all, it is Jack and Daniel themselves who emerge in such a detailed and convincing way. They are people possessed of a kindness and sincerity which helps to explain why over and beyond their sexual feelings they should be drawn to one another. If the writing is crucial here, no less so is the acting by the two principals, both ideally cast. Barry Ward had a leading role back in 2014 when he played Jimmy in Ken Loach’s film Jimmy’s Hall but his portrayal of Jack in this film is his most memorable work to date. In the case of Lorne MacFadyen, much of his work has been for television and his other appearances in films have found him in supporting roles (including by coincidence one for Loach, that being in 2012’s The Angels’ Share). Now as Daniel he has a chance to prove himself as a lead player in a cinema film and his performance could simply not be better.
By comparison with what has preceded it, the film’s conclusion does feel a mite sentimental, but that is a small point. On the Sea confirms that Helen Walsh, who won awards for her first two novels, has the potential to create equally distinguished work for the cinema and it is also an undoubted triumph for both Ward and MacFadyen.
Cast: Barry Ward, Lorne MacFadyen, Liz White, Henry Lawfull, Celyn Jones, Danny Webb, Leisa Gwenllian, Kieran Roberts, Tristan Jones, Robert Gwyn Davin, Julian Lewis Jones, Lisa Jen Brown.
Dir Helen Walsh, Pro David Moores and David A. Hughes, Screenplay Helen Walsh, Ph Sam Goldie, Ed Riccardo Saraiva, Music Felix Rösch, Costumes Elin Torr and Audrey Hughes.
Red Union Films-Verve Pictures.
111 mins. UK. 2025. UK Rel: 24 July 2026. Cert. 15.
